Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Miami Herald - Wednesday, January 23, 2002
Keny Feijoo
We don't want to die.
AIDS activists, patients, family members and friends gathered in front of the Torch of Friendship to protest the proposed budget cuts for Prospect Aids Care (PAC).
"This is terrible," said Arturo Alvarez, case manager for The League Against AIDS, a nonprofit organization. "If we stop all the services that we give to the patients, their quality of life will lower. And honestly, the lower the quality of life is, the greater the possibility of death."
The main issue at the meeting was Gov. Jeb Bush's budget plan, which would eliminate $10 million in funds this year for the Medicaid PAC Waiver program. Representatives from several agencies that work with the waiver program -- providing AIDS' patients with home-delivered meals, nursing, care managers, companionship, plumbing services and massage therapy -- attended the rally.
"I'm very depressed with the disease," said Jose A. Hernandez, 47, diagnosed with HIV 15 years ago. "I have distanced myself from everybody since then."
In addition to the help from family members and friends, Hernandez said, the services he receives from the League are essential for his survival. "We need help to alleviate our own feelings a little," he said, explaining he gets food, massages and home cleaning. "This illness is not an easy thing."
Activists, patients and their family members stepped up on the stage and talked about their needs, their worries and their expectations.
"I feel like the rug is being pulled," said Vanessa Wedemier, an AIDS patient from North Miami Beach.
While holding lit candles and chanting "More Cuts, More Deaths," the activists gathered signatures for the Legislature.
"As far as we are concerned, [the legislators] are going back to the beginning of the epidemic," said Manuel Laureano-Vega, founder and executive director of the League.
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